Like Family
by theMotherQuirk
Summary: Danielle failed to point out that she had never had a mom, and instead asked, 'Who are you' She replied wearily, 'Ember Mclain. Washed up popstar.' Oneshot.


Dedicated to Invader Johnny, who made the request. xD (ps-sorry if its not what you envisioned, but I tried my best.)

Like Family

She stumbled blindly through the fog, groaning from the pain, so much pain, gripping her side. She paused at a streetlamp, grasping the cold metal pole for balance, breathing heavily. Her eyes blurred from the pain, everything whirled around her, slicing her, hurting her, and all of the sudden she felt the ground slip out from underneath her feet. Only one thought was prevalent in her mind:

_Oh, oh God, I'm going to die. I'm going to die. _

But somewhere from within her, a voice laughed bitterly.

_At least our suffering will end. _

And as the world spun even faster before her, it suddenly stopped in an eerie silence, and a white lightening bolt burst from the sky, and then everything went black.

She was floating.

_No more pain. _

The last thing she saw before she let her eyes slip shut was the blurred figure of a woman.

And then nothing.

Danielle awoke to the sound of running water. Her first notion was that she was back in that horrible cave, back with that desolate sense of aloneness. But, as she opened her eyes and soon discovered, she was in a small, cluttered apartment, lying on a couch. She peered into what appeared to be a kitchen, and saw the back of a young woman leaning over the sink, doing the dishes. Her light blue hair (so light it was almost white) was done up in a high ponytail, and her clothing was not exactly modest. Danielle propped herself up on her elbows and winced. She lifted her shirt to examine the wound, only to find that her stomach was wrapped in bandages. Obviously, whoever found her and took her here had seen to it that her booboo was tended to. It irritated her that someone had stopped her from bleeding to death. That place she was in before she woke up was like…

Heaven.

Ignoring the stabbing aches in her side, she lifted herself from the couch and stood somewhat dizzily. She staggered into the kitchen and examined her surroundings more carefully. There was carpet in what she assumed was the living room, but here in the kitchen there was linoleum tile. The walls were covered with concert posters, autographed pictures of famous singers, and even band t-shirts. There was a small table to the left of her, and in front of her were cabinets. The woman doing dishes turned around and gasped in surprise, dropping the plates she was holding.

"Oh…!" She cursed under her breath and dropped to the floor, picking up what she could of the shards of plate. "Look what you made me do, Kid! Thanks a lot! Didn't your mom ever teach you to speak up?!"

Danielle failed to point out the fact that she had never had a mom, and instead asked, "Wh-Who are you?"

The woman stood up and threw the pieces in the trash and wiped her hands off her jeans, muttering wearily, "Ember Mclain. Washed up pop artist. What about you, Kid? You got a name?"

The young ghost girl nodded. "Danielle."

"You got a last name?"

Danielle considered for a moment. Masters or Fenton? Who was she?

"No."

"That's cool, I guess. So, you wanna tell me why a little chick like you was out so late last night, and half-dead?"

Danielle couldn't help herself. "I'm not little!"

Ember gave her a once over and said somewhat smugly, "You're littler than me."

"Am not!" It seemed impolitic to argue with the person who might be providing her shelter for at least a couple of hours, though, so she dropped the argument.

"I got in a fight with a big ghost…He was haunting an old man, and I had to help."

Ember shook her head. "You're one of those 'good ghosts'? Like, that Phantom kid?"

Danielle felt a sense of pride swell inside of her. "Actually, exactly like 'that Phantom kid'."

Ember rolled her eyes. "Being good gets you nowhere. You gotta be bad every once and a while, you know? Shake things up, get people rattled." Ember walked over to the pantry and swung the door open, studying the food carefully. "Anyways. Hey, Kid, are you hungry?"

Danielle's stomach answered for her, emanating a loud, embarrassing growl.

"I guess that's a yes." Ember grabbed four slices of bread and tossed them in the toaster.

"We're making peanut butter a la jelly tonight, baby."

Danielle took a seat at the table and studied her. Finally, the question she had been dying to ask bubbled out of her. "Why are you being so…nice to me? What have I ever done for you?"

Ember sighed and stopped what she was doing. "Have you ever loved someone so much and then all of the sudden they're gone, or they do something to you that hurts you so much you want to die?"

Danielle didn't answer.

"My boyfriend broke up with me…Actually, I broke up with him, cuz he cheated on me with that skank Desiree. Ha. I know this sounds so stupid, but I think I loved him. And he was freaking stupid, too. Thought he could hunt whatever he wanted. He sucked." Ember continued her monologue, "Anyway, I saw you lying there on the ground, doll face, bleeding to death. I figured, 'Hey, she looks like she lost something.' And I knew how bad that felt. I figured you could use a friend, baby pop, so that's why I'm being nice."

"That's so out of character for a ghost like you." Danielle said quietly. "Why-?"

"Just because we're dead doesn't mean we can't feel."

Danielle nodded, and said suddenly, "I lost my Dad. He used me to get to someone else, so I guess he never really was my Dad, but he made me. Nearly killed me, too."

Ember smiled sympathetically. "So, you lost your dad, and I lost my love. We're a pretty pathetic duo, yeah?'

"Yeah." She agreed.

"Well, we can be each other's family for tonight. That makes us less-pathetic, and 'sides, little sisters are good for publicity. It humanizes pop stars, or something."

Danielle smiled. She may've not known this ghost very well, but that was okay. They knew each other's hurt, and didn't judge each other for it.

For tonight, at least, they could be like family.


End file.
